- CD means CAOHC Course Director: the instructor qualification for teaching CAOHC-approved occupational hearing conservation (OHC) courses.
- Eligibility comes first: 1,000 relevant hours within five years, across at least three specified activities, plus a supervised OHC course.
- The exam is online, open-book, requires 80% to pass, and gives two attempts within a ten-day window.
- Initial exam is $200; the October 16, 2026 virtual workshop is a separate $500.
What the Course Director Credential Is
The Course Director (CD) credential is issued by the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC). It qualifies a professional to direct and teach CAOHC-approved occupational hearing conservation courses, the training that prepares technicians to run hearing conservation programs in workplaces. In some contexts you will see it described as a CAOHC-approved Course Director, and the phrase "Certified Course Director" refers to this same instructor qualification.
It is easy to confuse this credential with others that share the same initials, so it is worth being precise. This is not a student-level hearing conservationist certificate. The Course Director is the person who designs, delivers and administers the course that students take. If you want background on the acronym itself, see our explainers on what CD is and what CD stands for.
Who Qualifies and What You Must Document
Unlike many credentials where you register and sit the exam, the CD pathway front-loads a documentation review. Your paperwork must be approved before ordinary registration opens to you. For a full walkthrough, read our CD requirements guide. The core elements are:
- A qualifying current professional license or certification. CAOHC publishes the list of acceptable credentials. Current web eligibility includes physician assistants, while the November 2025 policy manual list differs, so confirm your own profession's status with CAOHC before you invest in anything else.
- 1,000 relevant hours within five years. These hours must span at least three specified activities. The point is to show sustained, varied involvement in occupational hearing conservation rather than a single narrow specialty.
- A supervised OHC course. You must complete a full in-person or hybrid OHC course as adjunct faculty or practicum assistant, working under an experienced instructor.
- Credential documentation and verification letters. Supervisor and Course Director verification letters support your application and must be approved before you register.
Fees and Registration Mechanics
The published pricing is straightforward, though the workshop is billed separately from the exam. Our CD certification cost breakdown goes deeper; the essentials are below.
| Item | Amount (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Initial CD exam | $200 | Taken after your documentation is approved |
| Renewal exam | $150 | Also the price for the eligible exam-only renewal route |
| Virtual CD workshop (October 16, 2026) | $500 | Eight hours of training time; billed separately |
| Workshop plus initial exam | $700 | Calculated total |
| Workshop plus renewal exam | $650 | Calculated total |
CAOHC does not publish a member versus non-member price distinction, so budget from the figures above. Confirm your exact date and deadlines through the guidance in CD exam dates and scheduling.
How the Online Exam Works
The CD exam is delivered online through the CAOHC Learning Center. It is an open-book exam, and your progress is saved so you can pause and return. You have a ten-day completion window, so this is not a single marathon sitting. Do not confuse it with an eight-hour or multi-day continuous test: the eight-hour figure belongs to the workshop, which is training time rather than exam time.
- Passing score: 80%. See the CD passing score explained.
- Attempts: two attempts within the window.
- If both attempts fail: you must repeat the workshop and the exam.
Some details are not publicly verified, including the exact number of questions, the split between scored and unscored items, and the precise item types. Calculator rules, adaptive behavior and any remote-proctoring rules specific to the CD exam are likewise unconfirmed. Treat anyone quoting precise numbers for those as unreliable, and check CAOHC's current materials. CAOHC also does not disclose a pass rate, which we discuss in what the data shows on CD pass rates.
Key Takeaway
Open-book does not mean easy. With an 80% threshold and only two attempts before you must repeat the workshop and exam, your goal is to know where each answer lives in the CAOHC materials and to understand the reasoning well enough to apply it to scenarios. See how hard the CD exam really is for a candid look at difficulty.
The Five Course Director Topic Areas
CAOHC's published Course Director workshop curriculum is organized into five areas. These are unweighted preparation topics tied to the issuer's workshop, not an official weighted or exhaustive exam blueprint, and no verified domain weights exist. Our complete guide to the five CD content areas expands on each. Here is what to master.
Domain 1: Developing OHC certification and recertification course curricula
You are responsible for the content and structure of the courses you direct, so expect to reason about what a compliant curriculum contains.
- How certification courses differ from recertification (refresher) courses in scope and content
- Aligning course content and schedule with CAOHC requirements
- Building balanced coverage of lecture, practical and hands-on components
Domain 2: Course Director procedures before, during and after OHC courses
This is the operational heart of the role: what you must do at each stage of a course's life.
- Pre-course tasks such as approvals, scheduling and instructor preparation
- Responsibilities during delivery, including oversight of faculty and practicum activities
- Post-course obligations such as records and reporting back to CAOHC
Domain 3: Effective teaching techniques and hearing-conservation training resources
Adult-learner instruction in a technical subject is a core competency.
- Instructional methods that keep working technicians engaged
- Selecting and using appropriate training resources and materials
- Delivering practical skills components effectively, whether in person or hybrid
Domain 4: Federal regulatory changes affecting OHC courses
Courses must reflect current regulatory expectations, and directors are expected to keep content current.
- Recognizing how regulatory updates change what you must teach
- Updating course materials when requirements shift
- Communicating changes clearly to faculty and students
Domain 5: Scientific and technical advances in hearing-conservation instruction
The science and technology behind hearing conservation evolve, and course content should keep pace.
- Incorporating new scientific findings into instruction
- Evaluating technical advances relevant to hearing conservation training
- Deciding what belongs in course content versus supplementary discussion
Any practice-question mix you see for these areas, including ours, is editorial allocation rather than an official weighting. Spread your effort sensibly and lean on your own gaps instead of assuming equal or fixed percentages.
Sequencing Your Preparation
Because the exam is open-book with saved progress, the best preparation is building a fast, accurate working familiarity with the CAOHC workshop materials rather than memorizing in isolation. Here is a CD-specific sequence that follows the logic of the role. For broader methodology, our CD study guide covers the full approach, and the CD cheat sheet works as a quick review companion.
Policy and procedure foundation
- Read the November 2025 policy manual with attention to Course Director responsibilities
- Work through Domain 2 first, since procedures anchor every other topic
Curriculum and teaching
- Study Domain 1 curriculum structure for certification versus recertification courses
- Cover Domain 3 teaching techniques and training resources
Regulation, science and practice
- Review Domain 4 regulatory changes and Domain 5 scientific advances, which are the most likely to be updated
- Run scenario-style practice on the CD practice test site and annotate where each answer lives in the source material
Schedule your exam attempt inside the ten-day window only when your notes are indexed and you can locate answers quickly. Use the workshop session itself as live instruction: take notes against the five areas as the presenters cover them.
Five-Year Validity and Renewal Routes
A Course Director certification is valid for five years. You can renew in one of two ways:
- Workshop plus exam ($650 combined by calculation).
- Eligible exam-only route ($150), available if you meet at least two of the following: you have directed ten qualifying OHC courses; you have served two years on a CAOHC committee or task force; you have earned ten relevant CE contact hours; or you have taught one approved CD workshop.
Note that ten CE hours is only one of four possible qualifiers, not a universal standalone renewal requirement. Extensions of up to six months are discretionary; you must request one at least 30 days before expiration, and a failed exam does not qualify you for one. Renewal of a separate COHC credential is handled independently from CD renewal.
Where the Credential Gets Used
Course Directors sit in the training side of occupational hearing conservation. The credential matters to professionals who teach CAOHC-approved courses for employers, training organizations and clinical or consulting practices that deliver hearing conservation education. It is typically an addition to an existing clinical or occupational health background rather than an entry-level credential, which is why the eligibility bar is high. We cover openings in CD jobs, compensation in the CD salary guide, and the broader value question in whether CD certification is worth it. For the program overview, see what CD certification is and our CD training resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
It qualifies you as a CAOHC Course Director, meaning you can direct and teach CAOHC-approved occupational hearing conservation courses. It is an instructor-level credential, distinct from the certification that OHC students earn.
Yes. It is an online, open-book exam delivered through the CAOHC Learning Center with saved progress and a ten-day completion window. You need 80% to pass and have two attempts within that window.
If both attempts fail, you must repeat both the workshop and the exam. Because the workshop is a separate $500 fee, careful preparation before your first attempt matters.
The initial exam is $200 and the October 16, 2026 virtual workshop is $500 separately, for a calculated $700 total. A renewal exam is $150, or $650 when combined with the workshop. CAOHC does not publish a member versus non-member price difference.
Certification lasts five years. Renew by completing the workshop plus exam, or through the exam-only route if you meet at least two qualifying criteria. Extensions of up to six months are discretionary and must be requested at least 30 days before expiration.